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Football in shock after Sir Alex Ferguson says sorry

SIR ALEX FERGUSON yesterday released a statement of apology to Alan Wiley, the referee he accused of being "unfit" after his club's 2-2 draw with Sunderland last weekend. Ferguson will telephone the official this week in an attempt to draw a line under an affair that distressed Wiley and for which the Football Association may yet censure the Manchester United boss.

Ferguson, holidaying in New York, issued the statement via the United website but it was not a complete climbdown. The physical conditioning of English referees was still "a serious issue" that he wished to draw attention to, he said. However, he accepted the public nature of his attack on Wiley, whom he accused of booking a player in order to "take a rest" during stoppage time at Old Trafford, was wrong. Statistics were subsequently released to show that Wiley, despite being 49, is among the fittest referees in the